College Volleyball Final – Lynchburg 3, Guilford 1

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Jen Garrett put away 25 kills and picked up 27 digs, both match highs, in visiting Lynchburg College’s 3-1 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) volleyball victory at Guilford College Wednesday night. The Hornets prevailed, 25-21, 25-22, 19-25, 25-19, and improved to 17-9 (7-3 ODAC). Guilford falls to 11-13 (5-5 ODAC).

Garrett had five kills during a decisive 9-3 Hornets’ run that turned a 17-14 first-game deficit into a 23-20 advantage. She finished with six putaways on .455 hitting in the first set, which saw nine ties and seven lead changes.

Garrett’s 12 second-set digs set helped Lynchburg squash a Quakers’ comeback. The hosts rallied from a 19-15 deficit and tied the score at 22-22 before the Hornets’ finished things off with three straight points, including two of Garrett’s six kills in the game.

After losing the third game’s first point, Guilford reeled off 10 straight points en route to a 25-19 victory. Tina Eucker had nine of her team-high 34 assists in the game, which saw a total of 13 Lynchburg errors. The Hornets rallied to within 20-17 in the third set, but no closer.

The Quakers held an 11-7 lead in the fourth set before Lynchburg rattled off 10 of the next 11 points. Garrett hit .375 in the set with eight kills and setter Lynn Walsh contributed 11 of her team-high 31 assists. Guilford’s Morgan Tompkins had four of her team-high nine putaways in the final game.

Heaven Jarrell contributed 10 kills and Amelia Dalton added nine for the Hornets. Libero Lauren Stanford picked up 23 digs and Walsh added 12.

Guilford’s Christian Ritter, Casey Davis and Jessica Sheek each tallied seven kills. Ritter added 16 digs and Davis had 12 pickups, plus five blocks. McKenzie Clapp’s 20 digs paced the Quakers.

Coach Emily Gann’s club closes the regular season Saturday (10/29) versus visiting ODAC-foe Emory & Henry College at 5:00 p.m.